Godfather of Green

Want to outfit your home with the edgiest in eco-tech? Just ask engineer Jerry Yudelson.

Green building and carbon-neutral living might seem like recent ideas, but engineer Jerry Yudelson has been in the environmentally friendly building business for 14 years. Today he directs a consulting firm in Tucson, Arizona, and his name is on a dozen books about green design. Before LEED certification (that’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, to us non-pros) was a glimmer in any architect’s eye, Yudelson was pushing for solar houses. And he still is. He offers his thoughts on where the field is headed, what new tricks are cutting energy use, and which technological leaps may yet take green homes mainstream.